The Pureblood Bride
by Zo the Inkblot
Summary: A Classic tale of True Love and High Adventure...


**The Pureblood Bride**

**Disclaimer: **This story takes from 3 great authors: the esteemed JK Rowling, the classic S Morgenstern, and his wonderful abridger, William Goldman. I am none of them. I thank them for creating such timeless pieces and allowing us fans to go wild.

**Chapter 1: The Bride**

Ginny Weasley had always been a perfectly average looking female. She was well aware of this fact, and was content to live with it…That was, she was content until the day she met Harry Potter.

Yes, she was only 11, but that raven-haired, emerald-eyed boy from her dreams had just become a reality. And he was _so_ much better looking than she ever dreamt.

As soon as she had stepped into the Burrow when they returned from Platform 9 and ¾ that fateful day, Ginny had set about learning to become a girl. The only problem was that she had no idea what girls did.

Being raised with 6 older brothers has some advantages. However, becoming a girl would require someone's advice who had been there, and so young Ginny had turned to her mother. (Before this Ginny had been decisevly independent, mostly pretending to be another one of the boys, even to the point where she had asked if she could live in the boys' dormitories when she attended Hogwarts). Needless to say, Molly had cried when Ginny asked to buy a dress. It was the first one Ginny had worn voluntarily in 8 years.

When Ginny finally started at Hogwarts she could hardly contain her excitement at being near Harry. She thought she had done well learning to be a girl. He would like her now, she was perfectly acceptable as a girl. (She even brushed her hair regularly now). But by the gods, that git of a brother of hers had become best friends with said man of her dreams (re: Harry Potter), thus putting any thoughts of a relationship with her out of Harry's head, (well, at least that was what she told herself).

The truth was that Ginny was still pretty average. Red hair and brown eyes weren't conventional, but they suited her. Still, she was just 11, and far from puberty. When the year ended, she realized that she looked the same as when it started, only a bit older. Dismayed and embarrassed about the years events concerning Harry, Ginny made herself distant and kept quiet around him.

The years passed and Ginny slowly made the transition from girl to woman. Very slowly. She was the last girl to have her breasts develop, the last girl to get her period, and the last girl to get rid of her acne. He gawkiness didn't disappear until she was 17, too late for Harry to discover.

As long as it took, it was worth the wait. Ginny Weasley emerged from her 7th year at Hogwarts as possibly the most stunning graduate. (She was only rivaled by two Hufflepuff girls who were blonde haired and blue eyed. However, those two had nothing much in the way of brains, so Ginny generally got the vote for most attractive. The Hogwarts 7th year boys were very lucky that her brothers had all graduated). Her skin was flawless. Her hair cascaded down her back in soft curls that would bounce when she walked. Her voice could melt ice; so soft, vibrant, and melodious.

By now Ginny had had a few boyfriends. She had even tried to get over Harry, which worked long enough for the two of them to become close friends and for Ginny to learn how to hide her emotions around him. But now, Ginny realized that she was not just your average looker. She was a real beauty. _Now even I'm too bloody good for Harry bloody Potter, _she tried to tell herself, smugly. _Who needs him anyway?_ Years of waiting and hoping had made her a bit bitter. She felt that she was completely over Harry now. Yes…she was over him.

Harry had been away at Auror training for a year at a disclosed location. Both he and Ron hadn't even been able to come home for the holidays, but now they finally had a month off before their final test. The boys had both written frequently for the first half of their absence and then slacked off and wrote home in a general letter every so often. Ginny and Harry's correspondence had grown quite interesting and personal during her last year at Hogwarts, and Ginny was furious at the sudden change.

_Bloody celebrities, _she thought. _Think that because they have all the good looks and charm they can get away with anything. Well, I'll show him._

"Hello! Mum, Dad Ginny! We're home!" Ron's shout was heard echoing through the house. Soon her mother's footsteps could be heard rushing from the kitchen to greet the boys (as it seems Mrs. Weasley was always in the kitchen). Slowly Ginny finished the page of the book she was reading and sauntered downstairs for formalities sake.

"Hello boys," she said, trying not to roll her eyes. In the process her gaze fell on their bodies: both were tanned and well muscled from their training. Instead of trying to hide her irritation, Ginny now had to fight to hide her admiration. Ron soon saved her by pulling her into a tight hug.

"Hey little sis! Wow! A year sure made a difference on you! Look at you!" he said, twirling her around and making her blush.

She noticed Harry's smile and melted.

Later that evening found Ginny upstairs in her bedroom while the rest of the family caught up in the living room. Why, oh WHY did that blasted boy have such an effect on her! She didn't need him, he was an ass…he hadn't written to her in so long…the mark of a true worthless jerk. (Harry actually had written, but the last 6 months of training did not let them send correspondence to their friends: only families and letters had to be general…very general…)

She was doing a terrible job at convincing herself of Harry's worthlessness. Instead she decided to pound her fists on her bed and cry.

She was perhaps one of the only people on the planet who could actually look more beautiful when having a tantrum.

A good night's sleep gave Ginny some perspective on the situation with Harry. She mused that perhaps it was because she wasn't ready for his deep golden tanned body, or the way his muscles rippled under his skin every time he moved that he had had such a shattering effect on her. Today though, was a new day, and she would show Harry Potter that she didn't need him.

"Pass the salt, Harry," Ginny ordered at breakfast.

"Of course, Gin," he replied evenly, reaching across the table to retrieve it. Ginny watched as his golden skin stretched out like a vast expanse of perfection in front of her, and as the muscles bulged slightly when…NO. She closed her mouth and set her jaw firm in the perfect picture of determination. With her eyes glued to the ceiling she grudgingly plucked the shaker from his outstretched hand.

"Hmph."

That morning was just the start of Ginny's orders. Ginny found that ordering Harry was just about as fun as making him laugh used to be for her. It was quite possibly her new favorite pastime, though she would never admit it.

One afternoon she noticed Harry across the garden polishing his Firebolt.

"Polish mine while you're at it, Harry," she called over her shoulder as she walked into the house.

"Of course, Gin," he replied evenly and rose to get her broom from the shed. She raised her nose and rolled her eyes outwardly, while inwardly she did a little victory dance. (The history of the Victory Dance, is quite interesting, actually. It stems from the Widzarding World back in 1383 after the Battle of Hegikok where Vicktor the Valiant was the first to jump into the air and utter the world's first Modern "Whoop." He then proceeded to dance around manically for a while. The feeling to dance after a win soon became commonplace, but it was named the "Victory" dance in honor of Vicktor). Ginny thought that ordering him was such fun!

Ron, sitting beside Harry was laughing.

"Man, why do you let her treat you like that, ordering you around like you were a house elf! And you always reply with the same thing!" he mimicked Harry, "'Of course, Gin,' it's a bit sickening really. It's not like you need to impress us or anything. You're part of this family Harry, you can boss her around like your little sister too."

Harry just shrugged. "I don't mind," he replied.

"Hey Harry!" one of the twins exclaimed later that week when they bounded into the room. Ginny and Hermione were engaged in a game of chess as the family began to file in. (The family didn't usually bother figuring out who was who. They weren't sure if the twins knew that well anyway). The other twin entered, hiding something behind his back.

"Look who we found!" he exclaimed, stepping aside dramatically. Cho Chang smiled shyly at the group. Ginny fumed (and looked more beautiful as she did so). _How COULD those boys be so STUPID! Didn't they know she wasn't good enough for Harry? It wouldn't last more than a second with those two…_her brain rattled on and on until one of her Chessmen hurled his sword at her. She stared determinedly at the game for as long as she could, stealing glances around the noisy room to the corner where Harry and Cho sat in conversation.

She watched as Cho laughed and shook her perfectly straight mane of hair over her shoulder.

She watched as Cho reached out and touched Harry's arm.

She watched as Cho made Harry laugh.

Cho had just made Harry laugh.

_She made him LAUGH! _Making Harry laugh had been Ginny's domain before. She stood up suddenly as old feelings flooded through the barrier she had worked so hard to erect, knocking the chessboard and pieces everywhere. Battling to keep her eyes dry she pushed her way through the room and raced up the stairs leaving a very bewildered group of Weasleys and guests behind.

Ginny refused to come out of her room the next morning, much to the confusion of her family. Each member tried to coax her out to no avail. Finally around 11 AM she heard the house silent, and figured everyone had gone out to do normal Monday morning things.

She clumped down the stairs still in her robe, her hair all frizzled from sleep and her eyes blotchy from crying. She still could make men swoon in her early morning state. (Swooning, incidentally, finds it's roots in the Wizarding World as well, but we won't get into that here). She didn't realize a couple things as she walked into the kitchen: firstly Harry was sitting at the table quietly, and secondly she had had that effect on him.

He stared at her as she gracefully glided around the small kitchen for a moment, reaching for various things. She reached up to grab a pitcher from a high shelf just then, causing Harry to take a sharp breath. The way the light hit her face made her look heavenly.

Hearing his noise, Ginny abandoned her task and whipped around while reaching into her robe pockets for her wand. He saw the brief look of panic that crossed her face as she registered that she hadn't brought her wand with her, which quickly changed to annoyance when she realized who the other person in the room was.

"Get that pitcher for me, Harry," she ordered and went back to slicing oranges. Suddenly she felt Harry's presence very close to her. Looking up, his intense emerald eyes bared down into her. She melted as she realized what his gaze held. The realization shocked her.

"Please," she barely managed to whisper. A smile played at his lips as he reached for the pitcher, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Of course, Gin." _I love you, _(was what he was really saying all along, but she had just realized this now).

Ginny couldn't take her eyes away from him. Even though the pitcher was in her hands now, she could barely remember its path to them. All the thoughts that encompassed her being now were the emotions that Harry's eyes held.

They were telling her that he loved her.

And asking if she loved him back.

She mustered up her courage.

"Harry…kiss me."

His smile grew. "Of course, Gin," he said before his lips were engulfed by another purpose.

Harry and Ginny left the Burrow shortly after that to walk in the surrounding countryside. It was there that Harry told Ginny the truth about that night at the Department of Mysteries and the full prophecy.

"It's time, Ginny. I've known it for a while now…I've got to go fight. But I couldn't leave until I knew that you would be waiting for me. I've loved you for so long now Ginny, and I needed to have something to fight for. The world wasn't enough…my friends weren't enough…but you, your love, our love…it's more than enough. I want to make this world better for…for our children."

Her heart skipped a beat. _Our children. _Her eyes were full of tears at the thought of him leaving, yet she understood. She just didn't want to accept it. "You're going to leave me so soon? You expect to proclaim all this love and then go running off somewhere right after where you could potentially die? I don't think that's fair, Mr. Potter…not at all."

"Hear me now Ginny…I will always come for you. Don't you forget that. Always."

"I love you, Harry. I am forever yours."

"I love you too, Ginny. As am I."

* * *

Ginny had returned to the Burrow that night alone. Harry had indeed left to go in search of Voldemort to initiate the final battle. She gave her family a brief explanation of the events and went to bed. The determination on Harry's face gave her all the strength she needed. He would triumph. There was no question about that.

The days passed and dark activity increased, leaving most of her family quite worried. Ginny, however, traipsed around the house doing odd jobs whistling softly (can one really whistle a tune too loudly?) to herself. Her mood disturbed her parents a bit.

"Ginny," her father told her one night at dinner. "We just don't want you to get too hopeful, incase…well, you know…."

"Dad, I love Harry. I know he will win," she told him honestly. She finished her food and cleared her place, exiting the kitchen with a soft peck on his cheek.

When she awoke the next morning she emerged from her room robe-clad and bleary eyed as normal (though still fully capable to make men swoon). As she rubbed her eyes in the hallway she realized that something was wrong. The house was too still, even in the early morning.

Coming down the stairs she noticed most of her brothers and parents seated quietly in the living room. They were all staring at anything but her.

"What?" she said crossly, putting her hands on her hips. First it was odd to see them all there, and second it was quite unnerving that there were 7 Weasleys in a room and it was quiet. (The Weasleys had been a loud bunch for generations, but now is not really the time to go into their history). Then she noticed a copy of the Daily Prophet on the coffee table. Picking it up, she read the headline:

**FINALLY VANQUISHED: HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED'S ULTIMATE DEFEAT**

Quizzically she looked at her family. If Voldemort was gone, why did they look like they had just been hit by the Cruitcus Curse? Finally Ron managed some courage and spoke the five words that ruined her life.

"Harry didn't make it, Gin."

Her world shattered. Only one thought entered her head at that moment: _I will never love again._

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**Author's Note: **I hope you liked it. The first chapter was hard to write because it's just fluff and set-up stuff. I want to note that I am using both styles from the book of The Princess Bride and the movie. (Hence all the parenthesis with irrelevant comments that drive you batty sometimes, and seem to go on forever and ever, or break in at the wrong moments and go into something that doesn't matter). I KNOW that their profession of love could have been more, but in both the book and the movie (especially the book) it's short. So I kept it that way.

Now the good parts come. AHHH I CAN'T WAIT! If you all wish, I could post a cast of characters so you can see who's supposed to be who…(for all the characters).

Also, I do note that I have changed Ginny's character a BIT for this role. Buttercup is notoriously stupid and irritating. Ginny is neither, but they are both stubborn. So Ginny had to morph a bit to be a bit more smug then she would be to fit the role better. I hope you don't all think I went too out of the box. **I understand that the first chapter was a little dry and short: please stick with me, I promise that things will only get better from here!**

Or perhaps you thought the first chapter was A-OK. You could tell me what you think in the form of a review ;)

Thanks for reading,

Zoë

**PS** I know about S. Morgenstern ;) but I love "him" anyway.


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